Page 32 - The Indian Optician Digital Edition January-February 2022

STATIN USE AND AMD at the time they volunteered for
the study. These subjects were
Researchers recently conducted a research to find out if statins evaluated every two years for
or lipid-lowering agents used to treat atherosclerosis, could have a cognitive abilities based on the
protective effect against AMD. However, the meta-analysis, revealed Cognitive Abilities Screening
that statins do not have any influence on the ensuing development Instrument, which scores in a
of choroidal neovascularization or geographic atrophy in AMD range from 0-100. Participants
patients. with scores less than 85 were

According to the Review of Optometry journal, the researchers required to undergo additional
searched three databases and the reference lists of the included neurological tests.
studies that measured risk of AMD development or progression with During follow-up of 3,038
statin use. A total of 21 articles (including one randomised controlled participants (an average of 7.8
trial and 20 observational studies) reporting on 1,460,989 patients years per person), 853 subjects
were included. The researchers found that in those with existing developed dementia, with 709
AMD, the risk ratios for statin use in terms of incidence of progression, cases of Alzheimer disease.
choroidal neovascularization and geographic atrophy were 1.04, 0.99 Approximately 45% of these
and 0.84, respectively which were insignificant. had cataract surgery. Analysis

However, their subgroup analyses found statins considerably for risk of developing dementia
reduced the risk for overall AMD incidence in cross-sectional studies showed that subjects who had
and noticeably raised the risk of late AMD incidence in cohort studies. undergone cataract surgery in
This finding was attributed to the different effects in the cohort either eye were about 30% less
studies for late AMD incidence to the heterogeneity of the two largest likely to develop any form of
studies they included in their analysis. The drawback was that the dementia for at least 10 years
study was limited by the majority of observational studies, which after their surgery.
included cross-sectional studies, cohort studies and case series. Lead researcher Dr Cecilia
The researchers revealed that most studies adjusted for S Lee, associate professor and
confounding variables such as age and hypertension. Five of the Klorfine Family Endowed Chair in
21 studies didn’t adjust for pre-existing comorbidities, while two Ophthalmology at the University
adjusted for one medical comorbidity and 14 adjusted for more than of Washington, School of
one comorbidity. Patients also tended to be young, and studies Medicine, said the observational
tended to have short follow-up periods. study adjusted for a number of

They concluded that the relationship between statin use and AMD potential confounders, yet still
incidence or progression was not statistically significant. yielded a strong association.
“These results are consistent
CATARACT SURGERY ASSOCIATED with the notion that sensory
WITH REDUCED DEMENTIA RISK input to the brain is important
to brain health,” said co-author
Dr Eric B. Larson, a principal
Researchers have found that patients who underwent cataract investigator of the ACT study,
surgery have a nearly 30% lower risk of developing dementia. The and senior investigator at Kaiser
study based on the longitudinal data of over 3,000 ACT study Permanente Washington Health
participants also shows that the lowered risk holds good for at least a Research Institute.
decade after surgery.
The study results highlight a
The Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study is a long-standing, strong case for further research
Seattle-based observational study at Kaiser Permanente Washington on the eye-brain connection
of more than 5,000 participants older than 65. in dementia. The results were
The study team tracked participants diagnosed with a cataract or reported in JAMA Internal
glaucoma but who did not have either cataract surgery or dementia Medicine.

| JAN-FEB 2022 | 28 OPHTHALMIC NEWS